The Kale Chips

With winter-greens season upon us, yes, with bountiful bunches of fresh and local kale abound, I thought it a perfect time to offer you this time-tested recipe I’ve been refining for years. This is my favorite. The coating is thick enough to offer a great texture, but not too thick to overtake the flavor of the kale.

• 1 bunch kale, washed and dried (dry completely)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup hemp seeds
• 1 -2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 lemon, juice
• Water (to thin mixture if necessary)

Blend all ingredients until well-combined except kale.

Remove main center vein from the kale leaf and break into pieces (not too small)

In batches, put kale leaves into a large bowl, pour some of the cheezy mixture over and massage.

Place massaged and coated leaves on a dehydrator tray with paraflex, or bake in a very low oven a the lowest temperature your stove allows.

 

Bake or “unbake” until crispy.

Buono Appetito!

The Bisque

I promise you this, this recipe will soon be your new favorite tomato soup recipe ever, and a staple in high-tomato season! Easy-peasy, purely nutritious and as satiating as satiating can be! The ingredients offered make only 2 servings, so I highly recommend you double or triple the recipe!

Serves 2

• 3 tomatoes, large, cubed
• 1 – 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 – 1/2 avocado, diced (or 1/2)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, drizzle to taste
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste
• Basil, chiffonade

Blend all ingredients except the basil: reserve that for garnish!

Recommendation: Begin with 1/4 avocado and add more for extra creaminess per your preferences

Top with fresh basil to garnish

Buono Appetito! 

Pumpkin Seed Pate

Pumpkin Seed Pate is one of my new all-time favorites! It is a very versatile and nutrient-dense recipe you can use in so many ways. I love to add dollops on top of a large green leaf, like collards or romaine, with other veggies as a really delicious ‘wrap!’ I also recommend using it as a dip, or even filling a stalk of celery and topping with finely minced fresh herbs. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with magnesium, zinc, protein and heart healthy plant-based Omega 3s, with anti-inflammatory benefits! I promise you this, once you make this recipe, you will be hooked too!

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked for 8 hours
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 scallion
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or water)
• 2 teaspoons of fresh herbs, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano – choose your favorites! 
• Sea salt and Cracked Black Pepper to taste
• Crushed Red Pepper to taste, if you like spicy!

Suggested toppings: sliced avocado, sliced red pepper, sliced cucumber, shredded carrots, jalapeno peppers if you like spicy (and I do!), shredded carrots and sprouts of choice!

Optional — I LOVE to add a scoop of raw fermented sauerkraut to my lettuce wraps

Optional — And maybe a little organic mustard too!

Prepare the Pate: Add the pumpkin seeds, scallion, celery, garlic, thyme, sea salt, black pepper, lemon zest and juice, and extra virgin olive oil into a food processor. Blend until well incorporated.

Assemble a Wrap: Add 2 teaspoons of pate to a green leaf. Top with toppings of choice. Roll and serve immediately.

Buono Appetito!! 

Strawberry Lemonade

There is nothing like fresh strawberries in New England, and we all look to find ways to use these ‘nature’s candy’ in all sorts of ways. This recipe, Strawberry Lemonade, is a healthy and refreshing drink to enjoy as the days begin to warm.

Nope, you don’t need to live in New England to enjoy this delicious drink!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb organic strawberries, trimmed and sliced hearty
6 lemons, juice
5 cups cold water
Fresh mint

Stevia or Raw honey to taste

PREPARATION

Purée a 1/2 of the strawberries.

Stir together strawberry purée, lemon juice, Honey to taste and water in a large pitcher until ingredients are well combined. Taste, then add more honey if desired. Stir in remaining strawberries and garnish with fresh mint  Serve over ice.

Cheers!

 

I love this Glowing Green Smoothie 2x recipe because it is one that I enjoy 2 ways, as either a pure, bright refreshing juice, or a heartier, fiber-filled, more satiating smoothie. You get to choose, or not, have both = one of my top recommendations to my clients to include daily! But do know this, every ingredient will leave your skin bright, glowing and hydrated with a great BONUS to counteract the ravages of the modern fast-lifestyle – it will counteract the effects of dehydration and support all your bodily functions.

Juice or blend:

• 11⁄2 cups coconut water
• 1 small head romaine heart, chopped
• 1 handful spinach
• 1 cucumber
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 pear, cored and chopped
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1 handful parsley
• 1-2  lemons – juice

Cheers to you and your vibrant, healthy body, mind and Spirit! 

This recipe is “bangin’!” I promise!

I am accused of saying “this is the best recipe I’ve ever made!” Ha! ‘Tis true! But this really is the best raw marinara I’ve ever made and … I truly do believe that raw food chefs have it all going on artistically! I’ve learned so much from so many. After a lifetime spent in and out of the hospitality industry, I can confidently say I know good food. I know how to combine ingredients, and I know what is slip shot and what is the real deal. Do yourself a favor and keep your eye on raw food chefs like Susan Powers and Matthew Kenney, they are brilliant culinary artists!

I decided I needed to indulge in some “cooking therapy,” and that this is so good, why would I not share it with you?  And honestly … (SMILE), this IS one of the best raw recipes I’ve ever made. Why? Because I’ve worked at refining my raw marinara for a long time. Whelp, the wait was worth it! This recipe is every bit as good as the cooked marinara’s I used to make, but so much healthier and fresh! This is yet another one of those compelling recipes to pull you over to my plant-based world – I promise!

Raw Spaghetti and “Meatballs”

Meatballs – Ha! Yes, I do use that word very loosely.

• 8 medium to large crimini mushrooms, quartered
• 1/4 Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Lemon, juice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

Toss mushrooms with EVOO, lemon juice and minced garlic. Marinate over night.

Marinara

• 1 1/2 cups sundried tomatoes (choose organic, with a bright red fresh color)
• 1 cup warm water (or enough to cover sundried tomatoes)
• 1 large ripe tomato, chopped
• 2 small cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil, or to taste
• crushed red pepper (optional)
• Himalayan Pink Salt and crushed black pepper to taste

Soak tomatoes until soft. Reserve soaking water

Add all ingredients to your high-speed blender and process until smooth.

Spaghetti Noodles

• 3 Yellow Squash, Spiralized with the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer

If you have a dehydrator, I recommend placing each ingredient in to gently warm. If not, prep your ingredients in the morning and leave them covered on the counter to maintain room temperature. But honestly, I’ve even it this cold out of the fridge and it is SO good.

Garnish with a drizzle of rosemary infused olive oil, crushed red pepper and raw parmigiana. Alternatives are finely crushed pignoli nuts, nutritional yeast, or a combination of both together.

PS – Seriously, tell me that doesn’t look like “real” pasta! Oy! SO good! Really.

Buono Appetito! Prometto eccellente delizioso! Amore from your pseudo Italian-Irish friend!

Many often say to me, vegan? that’s way too much work! I could never do it! And I just laugh and say 2 things, 1) TRY this recipe and 2) Just start adding more vegetables into your diet, and soon you will be eating more vegetables. That is, of course, if you are committed to looking and feeling your very best self! Tis’ true, animal protein is acidic in our body and requires way more energy for us to digest than plant proteins, so by incorporating more vegan recipes, your body can much more readily begin to heal. And that IS the magic bullet in my world and with the work that I do. This recipe alone can start to pull you over to a healthier way of eating, of this I am very sure!

Mediterranean Kale Stew

• 2 large bunches kale, deveined and chopped
• 2 large cans organic whole tomatoes (Muir Glen are my favorite)
• 2 large sweet Vidalia onions, chopped hearty
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 15 ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 – 2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• Himalayan salt and Crushed Black Pepper to taste
• Crushed red pepper to taste (optional)
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup white wine (optional)

Prepare: Pulse the tomatoes in food processor just once or twice to create a chunky, hearty texture. Set aside. Mince rosemary (Oh, my new addiction! LOVE fresh rosemary!) by hand or pulse in a coffee mill (I don’t drink coffee, I use a coffee mill to finely process fresh herbs)

Saute: In a very large soup or stew pot, garlic an onion until translucent. Add garbanzo beans, minced rosemary, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth and wine. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add chopped kale and simmer until tender, but still “al dente.”

Garnish with crushed red pepper and coarsely chopped parsley and serve!

Buono Appetito! Prometto eccellente delizioso!

 

When I make recipes like this, seriously, all I do is laugh and think I’ve so got to share this healthy ‘stuff’ with everyone who will listen! Recipes like this are the foundational steps to taking our lives to the whole next level because they are so nutrient-dense and healing! Easy to make. Easy to clean up. And best part … very easy to eat, because they are so darn healthy, deeeelcious  and personalizable! Yup, you can add anything and everything you want, once you get the basic recipe down, and you can even modify that too, but of course I offer you a few suggestions. Think old skool hoagie meets new world wrap and you’ve got the gist of this healthy recipe down pat!

The Recipe:

Mediterranean Sesame Seed Pate Wraps

• 1 cup of sunflower seeds, sprouted
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary
• Kalamata olives, or high quality olives of choice
• 1 Tablespoon Zatar
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Himalayan Sea Salt to taste
• Ground Black Pepper to taste
• Large Collard Greens – deveined (cut in half)

Additional Suggestions: 

• Carrot, shredded
• Cucumber, sliced lengthwise
• Red, orange or yellow bell peppers, sliced thinly
• Italian Long Hot Peppers, sliced or diced
• Sprouts of choice
• Avocado

Prepare the sunflower seed pate. Drain the sunflower seeds of excess water. Add the sunflower seeds, celery, garlic, rosemary, Zatar, sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice with the zest, and extra virgin olive oil to your food processor. Blend until well incorporated. The pate should be smooth but still have some texture to it.

Assemble the wrap. Wash your collard leaf and pat dry. Lay the leaf flat on a cutting board. Take a small knife and remove the thick rib of the stem (devein) so you have two halves that lie flat. Scoop the pate on your collard leaf. Add any of the suggested toppings. Roll the collard leaf like a burrito.

Buono Appetito!

Beets are a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, fiber and photonutrients. But the phytonutrients in beets give us blast of what is called betalains, which is in the rich gorgeous colors they offer. What does this really mean for us?  Beets give us a huge blast of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and cleansing, detoxification benefits.

Beet and Apple Salad

The Recipe:

• 2 cups of baby arugula
• 2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
• 2 medium chiogga beets
• ¹/₄ teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste
• Himalayan Sea Salt to taste
• Ground Black Oepper to taste

Slice apples and toss with fresh lemon juice in a large bowl. Add beets, arugula, fresh rosemary, pumpkin seeds, EVOO, salt and pepper. Toss to blend all ingredients thoroughly. You want to makes sure to coat the arugula and serve.

Buono Appetito! 

As everything I do, I made this recipe with big love for you, but this one I added a special twist of Jersey-girl “flava” for Marie Forleo, to celebrate her new season of B-School coming up in March! My first year with her in this program was second to nothing I’ve ever done – extraordinary! Oh yes, if it is true that we are the sum part of the 5 people we spend the most time with, I can assure you, you will join a tribe of 1000s of entrepreneurs that are up to “making money and changing the world” outstanding-style with Marie Forleo at the helm!  This recipe — a Chocolate Cashew Milkshake, is loaded with healing ingredients, love and wishes for your great success, to heal your body, so your Spirit can soar wildly, beyond the parameters you ever thought possible! Heck, maybe even with me and Marie Forleo in B-School this year!

I know, I know, with every recipe I say that this is the best recipe I’ve ever made, but this one, welp, it may be true with this one!

You want your healthy swagger back so bad, but you just can’t imagine giving up chocolate! This recipe is the perfect recipe. Thick. Creamy. And … with a very careful eye on the sugar content. Too much sugar is not good for us, right? Plus, I added all sorts of nutritional powerhouses! This ‘milkshake,’ rather ‘mylkshake,’ since it is a nut-based milk, is indescribably delicious. Creamy and just as thick as you remember your favorite milkshake, but healthy all day long, especially since I’ve added the special ‘shot’ of ginger! Sweet and spicy. Rich and creamy. Healthy and healing. C’mon, how could indulgence get any better? Just like one of the fine chocolates you specialty order, but this one won’t inflame your body!

Your welcome! You will love me forever for this one!

Here you go:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw Cashews
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 cup ice
• 2  frozen bananas
• 3 Tbsp raw cacao
• 1 scoop vanilla plant-based protein powder
• 1 – 2 Tbsp flax
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp of EFA oil
• pinch Celtic sea salt
• 1 – 2 shots of fresh pressed ginger juice (optional, but oh so freaking good!)

Add all ingredients into your high-speed blender and whirl-away to a decadent mildly sweet and healthy, thick, creamy treat!

PS-that ginger juice? Oh, EM, GEE … think luscious specialty chocolate with little nibs of goodness, minus the nibs of course, but with the essence of sweet cacao and spicy ginger that blend together into an indescribable glass of goodness!

PSS- Do you know that you must “chew” your smoothies? Yes, please chew each mouthful to activate the first gastric juices of our digestive process, amylase, to make sure your body gets all the healthy goodness you take in when you drink your smoothies!

PSS- Join me in B-School and grab this amazing bonus!

Cheers!